It's not every day that powdery snow covers the desert sand in Saudi Arabia – but that's exactly what happened to parts of the country when temperatures dropped below freezing. Saudis are reacting with a healthy dose of humor, and even a few snowmen.

The frigid temperatures and blanket of snow is an unexpected treat for Saudi Arabia's central and northwest regions, which tend to see daily high temperatures of around 20° C (68° F), even in the November "cold season."

But while the building of snowmen may seem innocent enough, Saudis who took part in the activity during a freak snowfall in January 2015 were condemned by a cleric who called it sinful and "anti-Islamic." He issued a fatwa (religious ruling) forbidding the activity - though clearly his opinion is not shared by everyone in the country.

The snowfall came as temperatures reached -3 ° C (26.6 ° F) in the Al-Jawf region and -1 ° C (30.2 ° F) in the northern province of Al-Quryat, the Saudi Gazette reported.